Tier 4 — mechanistic

Choline and betaine intake and risk of breast cancer among post-menopausal women

E Cho, M D Holmes, S E Hankinson, W C Willett
British journal of cancer 2010 102(3):489-494

Bibliography

PubMed
PMID 20051955
PubMed Central
PMC2822944
DOI
10.1038/sj.bjc.6605510
Funding
Indexed grant support: P30 DK040561 — NIDDK NIH HHS — United States; R01 CA050385 — NCI NIH HHS — United States; CA50385 — NCI NIH HHS — United States. The indexed list may not contain the complete funding declaration.
Competing interests
A competing-interest declaration was not available in the indexed record or accessible disclosure metadata.

Study snapshot

DesignProspective cohort
ModelHuman participants
Sample74584 postmenopausal women; 3990 incident breast cancers
InterventionHabitual dietary choline and/or betaine intake; no randomized TMG treatment
Duration20 years
EndpointsBreast-cancer incidence

What the study showed, in plain terms

Published in 2010, this source examined human observational and biomarker research. Design: Prospective cohort. Sample/model: 74584 postmenopausal women; 3990 incident breast cancers. The exposure or intervention was Habitual dietary choline and/or betaine intake; no randomized TMG treatment. Follow-up or treatment period: 20 years.

Dietary betaine was not associated with lower breast-cancer risk.

Observational exposure analysis: residual confounding and reverse causation remain possible. Associations do not establish that betaine supplementation causes the same outcome.

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Key findings

  • Dietary betaine was not associated with lower breast-cancer risk.
  • The recorded outcome domains were Breast-cancer incidence.
  • The exposure was observed rather than assigned as an isolated supplement treatment.

What this study can and cannot tell us

  • Observational exposure analysis: residual confounding and reverse causation remain possible. Associations do not establish that betaine supplementation causes the same outcome.
  • Confounding, dietary patterns, illness, medication use and reverse causation can influence an association. Blood or dietary concentrations do not identify the effect of starting a capsule.
  • Source basis: Accessible full-text extract plus indexed bibliographic data. Missing method details, funding information or participant denominators are not inferred.

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Dr. Khaled Mahmoud, MBBChCritical Care Medicine, Longevity Science & Editorial Direction Dr. Amr Yasser, PhDCardiometabolic, Musculoskeletal, Gut & Bioavailability Dr. Abdulla Mostafa, PhDCellular Senescence, Neurological, Mitochondrial & Brain-Ageing Biology